School buses are the safest form of transportation in Canada. Taking a school bus is safer than any other way for students to travel to school, including riding a bicycle, being driven in a passenger vehicle or walking.
On this page
- Who is responsible for school bus safety in Canada
- Updates to regulations
- Statistics on school bus safety
- Reviewing school bus safety
Who is responsible for school bus safety in Canada
School bus safety is a shared responsibility. Federal and provincial or territorial governments, school boards and school bus operators each play a role in making sure our school buses are safe.
Transport Canada is responsible for establishing the Canadian Motor Vehicle Safety Standards which include specific safety requirements for school buses, such as body joint strength, rollover protection, structural integrity, bus window retention, release and emergency exits requirements, as well as pedestrian safety devices, brake systems and stability control. In addition, similar to other classes of vehicles, school buses are required to meet requirements for lighting, tires, wheels, mirrors and other safety equipment.
Provinces and territories enforce safety on Canada's roads and highways and set the rules of the road. They are also responsible for licensing of school bus drivers, policies for safe operation of school buses and for the maintenance of school buses.
The majority of provinces require that school buses be built to the Canadian Standards Association (CSA) standard D250. This standard is developed jointly by representatives from Transport Canada, provincial governments, school bus operators and manufacturers. It covers a range of requirements related to the school bus body, chassis (outer frame), and other components that complement federal requirements, such as:
- lamps
- reflectors and signals
- crossing and stop arms
- mirrors
- strobe lamps
- roof hatches
- school bus colour
Updates to Motor Vehicle Safety regulations for school buses
To improve school bus safety, we made the following changes to the Motor Vehicle Safety Regulations.
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July 11, 2018 |
Seat belt installation and improved compartmentalization requirements |
This amendment:
Manufacturers need to comply with these standards as of September 1, 2020. Read the specific amendment
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June 4, 2017 |
Electronic stability control requirements |
This amendment brought in requirements for electronic stability control systems on large school buses. Read the specific amendment
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April 1, 2007 |
Child car seat and booster seat anchor requirements |
This amendment required all new school buses to have a minimum number of seats with lower and tether anchors, based on the bus's number of passenger seats. Read the specific amendment
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Statistics on school bus safety
According to the National Collision Database (NCDB) statistics, school buses are the safest means of transporting students to and from school. As of 2018, students are about 80 times more likely to get to school safely on a school bus than by car.
Fatalities on school buses account for less than 0.1% of all motor vehicle-related fatalities in Canada. In the last decade, between 2009 and 2018, there was 1 school bus passenger fatality on Canadian roads.
We filtered the data by school-related purpose:
- weekdays (Monday to Friday)
- school months (September to June)
- school-related hours (6:00 am to 9:59 am and 2:00 pm to 5:59 pm)
School bus safety review
We are committed to strengthening road safety in Canada. That is why we have undertaken a review of school bus safety measures, including seat belts.
Our review looked at seat belt use, as well as broader school bus safety issues. It:
- included a comprehensive review of studies and data on school bus operations in North America
- reviewed data from places where seat belts are already in use on school buses
- established a Task Force on School Bus Safety
The Task Force includes:
- provincial and territorial authorities
- school bus fleet operators and education authorities
- safety and advocacy groups
- industry
- academia
The Task Force has reviewed the data on school bus safety and seatbelts, and identified opportunities to strengthen school bus safety.
Contact Motor Vehicle Safety
Toll-free telephone: 1-800-333-0371
Local telephone: 613-998-8616 (Ottawa-Gatineau region)
Email: mvs-sa@tc.gc.ca